Secret Valentine
by Tanja the Bat
Summary: Young Sakura has gotten an anonymous valentine. Later on, she gets another! Who is her admirer? Read to find out.


**Greetings, everyone. (wave)**

**Okay, first I'm gonna say that I'm not much of a Valentine's Day fan, but I am a Naruto fan, and when this oneshot came into my mind, I just had to do it. (Sure, ti's a few days early, but you get the idea, right?) Anyways, I also enjoy the times when I see the characters as little kids ('cause they're so darn adorable X3) so I did the story in that particular setting.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing about Naruto. Ya hear me? Nothing. sob... **

* * *

It was early morning in Konohagakure. A shower of flower petals carried along the calm breeze, floating through the sweet air and landing wherever the wind took them. For some, today was special day. A day of interaction, a day of passing around flowers and cutout hearts to the object of your affection. Heck, you might even end up actually fighting with others for that particular person's attention. 

If you haven't guessed what I'm talking about, then I'll just say it. Today is Valentine's Day.

Out in a large clearing in the woods near the village gate, a small shorthaired blond girl was sitting in the green grass, picking flowers and arranging them in a beautiful setting. The girl smiled at her work.

"Just one more flower and it'll be perfect," she said, reaching for a chosen blossom.

"Hey, Ino! Ino!" yelled a voice from behind her.

Yamanaka Ino turned with a start. She relaxed a little when she saw a pink-haired girl running towards her.

"Morning, Sakura," said Ino with a wave. "What's up?"

Haruno Sakura ran up, looking excited as she held out something to her friend. "Look what I got!" she squealed.

Ino looked closely at what was in Sakura's hands. She was holding a tiny, clear glass vase. Inside was a blooming cherry blossom.

"Well, whaddya know, a Sakura," said Ino with a grin. "Where'd you get it?"

"It was on my front porch! I found it this morning," said Sakura, her pale green eyes dancing.

"Oh, really?" Ino eyed the pretty flower curiously. "You mean to say that someone actually left it there?"

"Uh, huh."

"Was there a note or anything?"

"No," said Sakura, shaking her head. She turned the vase to show off a small white card that said 'To Sakura,' typed and tied with a pink ribbon. "All it had was this."

"Well, it looks like you've got a secret admirer, and on Valentine's Day too," said Ino. She stood up and nuzzled Sakura's hair. "Quite the charmer, are we, Sakura?" she teased.

"Cut it out, Ino," giggled Sakura, pulling away. She straightened out the red ribbon tied on her head before turning her attention back to the flower. "Who do you think could have sent this?"

Ino rubbed her chin. "Hmm, good question," she murmured.

Sakura began to blush. "This so exciting," she squealed. "I wonder who it could be? And what'll be next??"

"Okay, okay, take it easy, kid," said Ino. "We can think about that later." She scratched through her hair. "Hey, let's head back to the village." She kneeled down and picked up her arrangement of flowers. "I want to give this to my mom before I go to the academy."

"It's so pretty, Ino!" said Sakura. She then took on a crestfallen expression. "I wish I could arrange flowers as good as you."

Ino put an arm around Sakura. "Hey, it takes practice," she encouraged. "If you work at it, I'm sure you're arrangements will be beautiful." Ino smirked. "Just not as beautiful as me, of course."

Sakura choked down a laugh. "Um, right!"

"Hey! Were you laughing?" growled Ino playfully as she poked Sakura's ribs.

Sakura giggled as she ran away from Ino. The two girls chased each other back to the Leaf Village.

* * *

After dropping off the ikebana to Ino's mother, Ino and Sakura began to walk off to the Ninja Academy. Sakura was humming as she went along the streets of Konoha. Ino looked over at her friend. "Heh, I've never seen you this chipper before," she said. "Still excited by your valentine?" 

"You bet!" said Sakura.

"If it weren't so early in the day, I'd be jealous," said Ino with a small grin.

"Hey, you could get a valentine too, Ino," encouraged Sakura. "I mean, who wouldn't like you?"

"Well, you've got a point there," said Ino, smoothing out her hair in a somewhat cocky manner. **(The author rolls her eyes. Ino reaches out and pounds the author on the head. The author, now with a small concussion, continues writing.)** "Still, whoever your admirer is, he obviously wants to remain anonymous. I mean, he didn't even _write_ on that card. If he did, we might have been able to trace his handwriting."

"But how could we have done that?"

"By spying on all the boys in the village, what do you think?" said Ino with a smirk.

"But that'd take forever," pouted Sakura. She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "There has to be another way…"

"Don't worry about it, Sakura," said Ino. "If this guy wants you to know who he is, he'll tell you, right? Just be patient."

"Oh, okay," muttered Sakura.

"Now, come on. I'll race ya," said Ino, taking off down the road.

"Hey, wait for me!" cried Sakura. She began running as fast as she could to catch up with Ino.

"Come on, Sakura!" taunted Ino, looking back. "You can do better than that!"

Sakura scrunched up her lips, a determined look crossing her face. But as she was building speed, she noticed something up ahead; something Ino wasn't paying attention to.

"Ino, watch out!" cried Sakura.

"Huh?" Ino barely spoke the word when she suddenly crashed into someone else walking along the road. The twosome tumbled along about a yard before they stopped in a heap.

"Ino! Are you okay?" panicked Sakura, catching up and falling down on her knees to Ino.

"Ow…" groaned Ino. She sat upright and glared at the person who had collapsed with her, a boy with long, shiny black hair pulled back in a braid. "Watch where you're going!" she growled.

Sakura cocked an eyebrow. "But, Ino, I think it was your fault," she pointed out mildly.

"I'm terribly sorry," said the boy, looking up. The girls lurched back a little when they saw how bushy his eyebrows were. "Are you all right?"

"Just fine," sniffed Ino. She got up and brushed herself off. "Come on, Sakura, we're gonna be late."

"Hold on, Ino," said Sakura, turning her attention back to the boy. "Um, are you okay—?"

The boy jumped to his feet. "I'm just fine! I do hope you forgive me for my clumsiness!" he said, clenching an almost determined fist.

Sakura could only stare. She stepped behind Ino a little bit. "Um, yeah, sure, of course she does," she murmured. She then poked Ino's shoulder. "Uh, let's go now, Ino."

"As I was saying…" muttered Ino. She and Sakura walked past the bushy-browed boy. As they walked, Sakura looked back for a moment. She gave the boy a small apologetic wave before turning her attention back to the road.

* * *

Later on, Ino, Sakura, and a bunch of other girls were in one of their classes, learning to keep their minds and emotions fluid and calm through the art of painting. 

Sakura rinsed her brush in the small jar of water on her easel, going for another shade of pink to add to her picture. "There!" she quirked. "Hey, Ino, look."

Ino looked away from her painting. "A Sakura blossom. How original," she teased.

"Not just any blossom. The one I got this morning," said Sakura, proud of her work despite Ino's words. She smiled again at the thought of the valentine flower. "I wonder who did send it to me?"

"Well, let's think. Who would we know around here that would take an interest in you?" asked Ino.

Sakura thought hard. "Ummmmmm…" She looked crestfallen. "I really have no idea."

"Don't sweat it. We have the whole day to figure it out, or if the guy finally gets the guts to spill it to you. In the meantime, I'd watch where you're holding that brush."

Sakura looked down, squeaking when she saw pink paint dripping onto her hand. She snatched a paper towel from the table next to her and tried her best to wipe it off.

"Also, what am I gonna do about that kid who knocked me over?" muttered Ino.

"But Ino, you're the one who ran into him," pointed out Sakura.

"What kid?" asked a girl near Ino.

"Oh, some goofy-looking guy with black hair and bushy eyebrows," said Ino.

"Oh, you mean Lee?" said the girl.

"Is that his name?" asked Sakura.

Just then, one of the students came into the room after a small break. "Hey, whose vase is this?" she asked.

Sakura and Ino turned around towards the door, as did some of the other ninjas-in-training. "Whose vase is what?" said one of the girls.

The girl in the door held up a glass vase with a pure white lily in it. "I found this next to the door," she said. "I thought maybe…oh, wait, there's a card on it." The girl read it. "It's for someone named 'Sakura.'"

"What??" said Ino and Sakura, not to mention a few others, in unison. Sakura left her easel in a flash and took the flower from the student. "Another one??"

"Haruno-san got a valentine?" said one of the girls, as though she couldn't believe it.

"Billboard Brow? No way," said a girl with dark hair.

"Shut up, Ami," snapped Ino. "Go put it with your bag, Sakura. I'll wait."

"Okay," said Sakura. She left and went into the next room. She walked over to her bag and carefully put the vase down on the small table near it.

"Wow, the second one today!" she murmured. She put her hands over her heart, a silly grin crossing her face. "I feel so special."

She then scratched her head. "Still, I wonder who in the world it is?"

* * *

It was now much later in the afternoon. School had let out, and Sakura had gone home to ponder the day's events. As she leaned against her window, she observed her vase, now fill with not just two, but _three_ flowers. After her last class, she had found another vase sitting on her shuriken pouch near her bag. This one had held a blooming cosmos. 

"Three flowers in one day," murmured Sakura. She sighed. "And I haven't the slightest idea who's been giving them to me. Do I know the person? Do I not?"

Sakura shook her head. "Augh! This is making my head hurt! I felt so excited before, yet now the secrecy driving me nuts. Urr, that does it. I need to go see Ino."

Sakura jumped away from her window. After getting her mother's permission, (or rather just telling her and not waiting for an answer) she went out of the house and left to look for her friend.

"Hmm, I don't think she'd be at home. She always likes to hang around for a while after school," pondered Sakura. "She could be back at the clearing…"

Taking that into consideration, Sakura jogged off down the road towards the gate, which was close to her house. Soon exiting the village, she went back to the flowered clearing where Ino normally did her ikebana work. Sakura became disappointed when she saw that Ino was not there.

Sakura stood still for about a minute, staring at the flowers that spread all over the forest ground. "Maybe as long as I'm here, I can try an ikebana," she decided.

Sakura sat down near a patch of blossoms and started with a big white one. She looked around the patch for flowers that might harmonize with it. "Just as Ino said," Sakura murmured to herself.

It took about ten minutes, but eventually Sakura came up with a small arrangement of yellow, white, and pink flowers. "Hmmm, it's not perfect…" Sakura smiled a bit. "…But it looks okay. I think I'll give it to Mom."

Sakura got up from the grass. "First, I'll show it to Ino and see what she thinks!"

The young kunoichi turned and began to walk out of the clearing. As she walked, a rustling sound came from the bushes.

Sakura stopped short, her heart jumping into her throat. She could've sworn she had seen something move through the trees out of the corner of her eye.

"H—hello?" she called out meekly.

No one answered. Shaking, Sakura dashed out of the woods as fast as she could, her heart still jumping around in her chest. She soon emerged from the trees into the afternoon sunlight. She sighed in relief when she saw the familiar sight of the village gate. She slowed down a bit, but still kept up a jog. She wanted to get back inside and away from the woods a fast as possible!

Once through the open doors, Sakura stopped to take a breath. As she rested, she again saw something out of the corner of her eyes. Someone was leaning against the wall next to the gate. Someone with familiar, braided black hair…

Then Sakura remembered. It was the boy from earlier that morning. _What was his name?_ She thought, trying to think of what that girl had said. _Oh, yeah. Lee. Lee-san…_

For a moment, Sakura wondered if she should keep going. After all, by normal standards, or at least by her standards, the guy was a little weird, especially his eyebrows. But still, for some reason Lee looked a little out of breath too…

Then, as though he had sensed her presence, Lee looked up, jumping a little when he saw the pink-haired kunoichi. "Ah, Sakura-san!" he squeaked.

"Y—yes?" replied Sakura, startled.

"Um, I mean…" Lee shook his head, as though trying to clear his mind and regain whatever composure he had. He then bowed. "Good afternoon, Sakura-san," he said. "What brings you out here?"

_He certainly is weird!_ Sakura thought. But she didn't say it out loud. "Um, I was just coming back from the woods. What are you doing here?"

"Um, nothing really. I was going to go out for a little training," replied Lee, scratching the back of his head. To Sakura, it seemed like there was more to it than that, but she decided not to prod. "Um, about this morning, sorry about Ino," she said. "She's rough, but she's not a bad person."

"Oh, no, that's all right, really," said Lee, shaking his hands.

Sakura cocked an eyebrow. "Hey, I saw you were gasping a little before," she said. "Actually, your face is kinda pink too. Are you sick?"

Lee's hand shot up to one of his cheeks for a moment. "No, no, I'm not," he said with a bit of a grin, trying to shake off whatever it was he was feeling. "But, thank you for asking, Sakura-san."

"No problem." Sakura looked down at the ground briefly, suddenly feeling a tad uncomfortable. "Um, well, I should get going."

"Wait, Sakura-san," Lee said before Sakura could take one step. "I…I hope I'm not prying or anything, but you don't look so well yourself. Is something wrong?"

_Huh? Why should he care?_ Sakura wondered. She probably should have said it was none of his business. But at the moment, she felt tired out, so she didn't care that she was talking to a complete stranger. "No, not really," she murmured. "It's just been an interesting day."

"How so?"

Sakura looked down at her arrangement. "Well, I've gotten three flowers today, and I can't even figure out who sent them. It's been driving me kinda buggy now." She sighed a little. "I guess I'm just wondering why this person won't say who he is. I mean, I know that secret admires are supposed to be, you know, secret, but still…"

There was a moment of silence. A quiet breeze blew through the kids' hair. Lee broke the silence. "Well, maybe…maybe this person doesn't want you to know who he is because…" Lee glanced away, his cheeks pinker than ever as he thought of what words to use. "…Maybe he's worried of what you would think if you knew. Maybe…he's afraid…that he's not good enough for you…"

Sakura listened, taking in Lee's words. Somehow, they made sense. "You think that maybe that's it?" she asked. "But…why should he be afraid?"

Lee looked up at Sakura as she kept speaking. "I mean, I don't see how I couldn't like someone who gave me such nice gifts, who actually noticed me. Even if it's just for this one day, I'm grateful that it did happen to me."

There was more silence. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment to take it in. She was beginning to feel better again.

"Hey, Sakura! Where've you been?"

Sakura opened her eyes and looked up. Ino was standing at the end of the road with a few of her other friends. "Come on, I've got something I wanna show you," called Ino, waving.

Sakura waved back. "Okay, I'm coming," she called back, starting to walk toward her friend. She then stopped, looking back at Lee. "Oh, Lee-san?" she said.

"Eh?" said Lee.

Sakura grinned a little bit. "Thank you for cheering me up."

The red-clothed kunoichi-in-training then ran off to meet with Ino and her friends. Lee stayed where he was, his face taking a full strength red blush. After a few seconds, he reached into the pouch connected to his pants.

Carefully, he pulled out a small, clear glass vase with a blooming lotus flower inside it.

"No, Sakura-san. Thank _you_," he murmured to himself. "For giving me at least a small spark of hope that someday, I'll become a man that can make you happy. Until then, I will always watch over you."

His blush lessened a little as a gentle smile crossed his face. "Happy Valentine's Day, Haruno Sakura-san."

* * *

**You know, after rereading this, I thought I kinda rush it a bit. x.x; What do you guys think?**

**I've always thought that LeexSakura was cute, even if it could be unrealistic. x3 This fiction came to me when I thought of the question: How long has Lee had his eye on Sakura? So, here we are. **

**I hope I didn't make them too OOC. I was trying to avoid that, but somehow, I feel like I didn't. Oh well. XD; **

**Thanks for reading. Please review!**


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